The size of the flooded area in the Kherson region as a result of the Kakhovka dam breach has almost halved, Ukraine says – but experts and officials fear infectious diseases may spread in polluted waters.
Water levels have dropped by 27cm (10in), the regional administration’s head, Alexander Prokudin, said.
But thousands of Ukrainian homes remain flooded, the interior ministry said.
Tens of thousands of people have lost access to drinking water.
The major dam burst on Tuesday, releasing a huge torrent of water which quickly flooded vast areas of land on both sides of the Dnipro river.
Ukraine has blamed Russia for “blowing up” the dam, located in a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine. Russia has denied this, and has accused Ukraine of being responsible for its destruction.
The BBC has not verified either claim, although it seems likely that Russian forces, who controlled the dam, decided to blow it up in order to complicate Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive.
Behind the dam, the huge Kakhovka reservoir – a vital source of water for the region – has drained of water.
The World Health Organization (WHO)’s Ukraine representative, Dr Jarno Habicht, told the BBC the situation was “devastating” and providing safe, clean water was a priority. He said it was important to keep an eye on water-borne illnesses and that precautionary sample testing was ongoing.
The UK’s defence ministry said people were facing a “sanitation crisis” with limited access to safe water and an increased risk of water-borne diseases.
While Ukrainian officials said no cases of infectious illnesses have been reported so far, the city of Kherson – around 100km (62 miles) from the Kakhovka dam and badly affected by the floods – has introduced restrictions on the use of river water in order to prevent their spread.
The flooding of houses and sewage facilities means the water is now highly polluted, the city military administration said, meaning that bathing, fishing and drinking the water, or giving it to animals, is prohibited.
Ukraine’s interior ministry said 32 settlements had been flooded in Ukrainian-controlled Kherson, while another 14 were flooded in the Russian-controlled part. Another 31 settlements were flooded in the Mykolayiv region.
Source: BBC
